Jealousy
by Fire Wolf12
Summary: How does Iggy feel about the obvious relationship between Max and Fang? My very first fanfic! Please read and review! A love triangle with Max, Iggy, and Fang!
1. Chapter 1

_**This is my very first fanfic EVER! I'm so excited and I'd like to thank all the Maximum Ride fans in advance for picking this story out among the hundreds of others! Thank you thank you thank you!**_

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_**Sadly, I do not own Maximum Ride. I wish I did, but James Patterson does.**_

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I sighed.

Max and Fang were talking in the living room. The kids had gone to bed a while ago. The three of us tended to stay up later, just because we could do that.

Gazzy had said that he wanted to try something new with a bomb tomorrow. Max had instantly questioned us. I'd said I would make sure neither of us got killed. Her response?

"You said that last time…"

And, as if on cue, Fang had cut into the conversation.

"And last time, you were both almost killed by flying debris."

Fang was like a brother, but, when he teamed up with Max, I couldn't help but hate him…

But, I'd convinced them that I'd be extra careful tomorrow. But, as I'd turned around to leave, I'd heard Max whisper to Fang that they'd have to fly around our testing area to make sure we were being careful.

Of course they'd be watching us. They always watched us. They thought I couldn't hear their wings in the air, hear them whispering…But my hearing was better than they thought…

Which meant I could also hear what they were saying now. Not much. Just talking. But I could hear, from where their voices were coming from, that they were sitting close. But they were just talking about stuff. The TV. show that had been on last night, how they couldn't wait for the episode next week, what the heck we were going to eat tomorrow…the usual things. But it wasn't like when the kids were around. Their voices were quieter. Fang's voice was always quiet, but now…talking to Max…His voice was more gentle and quiet than just the normal quiet…It almost made me mad.

They knew I was there…

I had told Gazzy that I would think about his plan tomorrow. How to pull it off, where to set up the bomb, where to hide, stuff like that. I was thinking about it. But I was eating too. I'd gotten hungry, and was eating a late dinner, being forced to sit and listen to Max and Fang…

But I tried to focus on what I was doing. When you're blind, it's a little bit harder to eat. Make sure you don't stab yourself with the fork, make sure you don't miss your mouth, make sure you don't--

Spill milk down the front of yourself.

Dang it…I fail…

And that's why I have to focus on what I'm doing instead of what's being said around me…

I heard someone turn around on the couch and laugh, making the other person turn around.

I identified the laughter. Max. "Iggy, what'd you do?"

I got up and reached for the napkins on the table…

"Who moved the napkins?!"

Fang sighed. He got up and came over to the table. "Right here, Ig--"

"No! I'll find them myself!"

He paused. I hope he was surprised. "Fine, Ig…Be like that…" He went back to the living room. I heard his feet on the kitchen floor, then scuffing on the carpet, then him sitting back on the couch, still close to Max…

Max still hadn't turned around. I could almost feel her eyes on me. Feeling tempted to look in her general direction, I felt around the table for the napkins again. I hated it when people moved things…especially when I was in a bad mood…I found them a little out of my reach. I'd been so close to finding them on my own…Using a few to wipe the front of my shirt and my face, I got up.

"I'm going to bed." I announced.

At the exact moment I finished my sentence, Fang yawned.

"Great. Both of you. Bed." I could tell she was smiling.

Fang groaned. "Must I?"

"Yes, you must." Max told him.

He sighed and got up, following me to our room.

***

That night, all I could think about was Max and Fang. It bothered me…more than it should have…

Damn jealousy…I had to figure out a way to deal with that before it drove me insane…

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_**So there you go! My very first fanfic! Please let me know if you want me to continue...Although I'll probably continue whether you want me to or not because I must finish this. But please review! Thank you again! --Fire wolf12**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Okay! Posted! Sorry it took forever! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!!!**_

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Next day. Lunch.

Gazzy shoved a huge bite of his sandwich into his mouth. I was blind, but could hear it in his mouth afterwards, which gave me mental images that made me happy I couldn't see it.

"Iggy, I can't wait to set off that bomb!" he said, his mouth still full. I was lucky I'd been able to make the sentence out.

"Me neither, Gaz."

We'd decided to set it off after lunch. Which is why he was inhaling his food. I was almost as excited, but I was mature enough to hide it…Gazzy on the other hand…

"C'mon, Ig! We have to get this set up and blow it up before dinner!"

I sighed. Putting on my shoes and jacket, I took my sandwich off the plate and ate it on the way to the clearing where we always tested out our bombs. It was a very nice clearing, only a few minute-flight away. There was a spot in the center that was clear of any grass or bushes or anything like that. Because, as I could feel, when the grass disappeared from under my feet as I walked to the center, any plant life had been turned to dust, and I guess it was all just black near the center of the dust-circle. We'd built a small shelter near the edge of the clearing. Nothing much; a wall of stones that was wide enough for 6 bird-kids to lay behind. Not that all 6 of us were ever behind there at once, but it was nice to be prepared…

Today there would be 4 bird-kids hiding there. Max and Fang had said they'd leave us alone, but, as I'd heard last night and which always happened, they'd be flying around the skies. High enough to not get hit by anything, but low enough to be able to see what was happening with their raptor-vision.

And of course they'd be together. They'd both be around.

I felt someone looking at me from 4 o'clock, and turned around.

_It's me, Iggy._

_Nudge? I didn't know you could read thoughts…I thought it was Angel for a second there…_

_It is Angel!_

_I know, sweetheart. Just messing with 'ya._

_Meanie…_

I smiled and turned back around to where I hear Gazzy's voice call me, hoping that Angel hadn't picked up on my thoughts about Max and Fang…

Crap, she was probably still listening to me…Quick, change thought pattern…

"Gazzy, did you bring the matches?"

"Yup!" I heard him go through his bag to pull something out. "They're right here!" He opened my hand and pushed the matches into it. I could tell it was the matches. The box was pretty old; the corners were bent, and I recognized the familiar scratchy part where I would strike the matches.

"Wait just a second…" Nudge said, in that girly, pre-teen voice of hers that drove me mad. "You let Gazzy use the matches? Are you insane?"

I grinned. "Nope. Letting him use the matches would be suicide. I strike the matches."

A pause. "I'm rolling my eyes, Iggy. Because the blind kid striking matches is so much better than the 8-year-old…"

"Exactly." I told her, turning my back to her. "Gazzy?"

"Yeah?"

I turned to where his voice came from. 7 o'clock.

"Make sure you don't cross the wires like last time…Now, what type of firework is this?"

***

It was all set. We'd spent about 15 minutes going over the placement of the fireworks and the timing of all of the miniature bombs we'd made…

"Ready, Gaz?"

"You bet I am?" The kid couldn't hide his excitement.

"Do you want to set off this one?"

"No! I want to!" Nudge exclaimed.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with this?" I reminded her. "We practically had to beg you to come…"

"But then I had no idea what you were gonna do! I thought it would just be, like, another one of those boring, stupid bombs that just, like, exploded--"

"Normal bombs are not boring!" Gazzy yelled at her.

"Whatever! But then I saw that you had fireworks!"

I looked to my left, to where Gazzy was. "Should we let her?"

He sighed. "Fine…" I heard Nudge squeal with joy when he handed her the switch.

"Okay…Is everyone behind the wall?" Even though everyone said yes, I checked. Reached over Gazzy then in front of him to make sure there was a stone wall in front of him, then reached to my right to the girls to make sure there was also a stone wall in front of Nudge and Angel. "Okay, we're all good…" I double-checked myself, reaching forward and feeling stone in front of me. "Ready, Nudge?"

"Definitely!"

"When you're ready!" Gazzy yelled.

"Bombs away!" Nudge screamed, then flipped the switch.

I knew she hit the switch, because of the overwhelming sound that came.

Trust me on this. I know this from experience. Bombs are loud. Fireworks are also loud. What happens when you put those together? REALLY loud. But, what had motivated Gazzy to try to put them together?

"Iggy, it'll look so awesome! The bomb can light up some fireworks and we can set them up to make this awesome display! Don't you think it'll be cool?"

Of course I'd thought it would look cool. For him and the other kids…

It was a good thing I'd told him that we had to use fireworks that stayed under the tree line. They couldn't go too high, because you never knew what secret government organization would see it, or if some random person would see it and want to investigate and we couldn't risk that.

Max should've been proud.

It was about a minute before the last firework went off. I could smell the smoke in the air. The noise was still in my ears. We should've thought about the sound…Someone could hear that too and investigate…

"That…was…so…AWESOME!!!!!" Angel yelled in excitement.

"I know, wasn't it? And it was my idea!" Gazzy bragged.

"If it was so awesome, give me a picture to go along with the sounds." I said to him.

"There was this green one that went up like 50 feet in the air and went off but then it changed to yellow!"

Nudge pitched in. "Then there were these ones that went along the ground!"

"And then…"

I ignored the rest of their account. I'd seen it.

_Thank you, Angel._

_Anytime, Iggy. Did you like it?_

_Yes, very much. Thanks again. I owe you. I owe you and your abilities to transfer pictures to my head. Did you like it?_

_I loved it! It was soooo pretty!_

I smiled. _That's good. Then we'll have to do this again sometime. Just for you._

_Yay!_

"…And it was soooo cool!" Gazzy went on, not knowing I'd stopped listening to him. "You would've loved to see it, Iggy!"

I got up off my stomach and stood up, coughing a little bit from the smoke still hanging in the air. "Well, I heard it, and you guys liked it, so that's enough for me. Now, I'm gonna go back home and make dinner. You guys clean up. Okay?" Because, without a doubt, there were little metal pieces everywhere…

"Iggy!" They all whined at me at once.

I laughed. "What, I'm blind. I'm just not much help at cleaning up. And it's either you clean up and I make dinner, or you make me stay and help and Max cooks."

They thought this over for a moment, no doubt remembering the last meal Max had cooked. Some sort of casserole that had tasted really bad…

"You go cook, Iggy!" Nudge said.

"We'll clean up here!" Gazzy added.

"I agree." Angel said.

I nodded. "I thought so. Have fun with this." I mentioned to the general direction of where I thought the mess was.

There was a big giant sigh from three young bird-kids. I laughed again, inwardly this time.

I turned and took a running leap into the sky, pulling my wings out and flapping hard to get upward. I knew my way home by instinct and flew in that direction. That was one thing I didn't need to see to know. My way home. Even though it was night by now. I could tell, because the wind on my face felt different from the wind that was blowing during the day. When you're blind, you notice these things.

In the back of my mind, I wondered where Max and Fang were. I hadn't heard their wings in the sky this time, or their voices. They had said they were going to watch…I almost didn't want to know where they were if they hadn't been there to watch our usually-dangerous bomb-detonations…Maybe they stopped caring…or maybe Max just got sidetracked by something else…Maybe by something Fang said or did…

I swore, if it was something about her and Fang being alone that had made her forget about us, about me, then Fang would be in some trouble with Angel, once she heard about it through someone's thoughts…

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_**Again, I'm terribly sorry it took so long. Suddenly, I have a life…It's weird…But I'll really try to start chapter 3 soon and get it posted faster than I did this one. Read and Review!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_***sigh* Here it is! Sorry I'm taking forever to update this story…I need to focus on this and stop writing short one-chapter stories and focus on this…**_

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I took my time flying home. I almost didn't want to get home. Almost didn't want to know why Max and Fang hadn't been there at our little explosion…

To get home, I knew that, at my leisurely speed of 45 mph, it took 15 minutes north-northwest to get home. I heard the wind through the canyon below me, identified where I was, adjusted my path. I heard the T.V. on in the living room, through the always-open living room window. Max and Fang always kept it open when I was out. Even if they knew the younger kids would be with me, there was always the possibility, like now, that I came home without them. It drove me insane that they had to do that, but it was either that or seem like the helpless blind kid that got lost on a regular basis. That would be worse than them having to have the T.V. on and the window open.

I landed on the roof. I didn't slip at all. Of course not. I didn't make a sound either.

The kitchen window was open. I knew it was the kitchen, because I heard Max doing dishes. How did I know it was Max? She was the only one that sounded like she was throwing cleaned dishes into the drying rack. No one else. Only Max.

Dishes? So dishes were what kept Max from watching to make sure her Flock was safe? She knew I'd be coming home soon, to make dinner, and that the lunch dishes were still in the sink, but it still didn't add up. The kitchen was on the ground floor, on the side of the house that was next to solid ground, not over a cliff. I dropped to the ground soundlessly and made my way to sit below the window, where I couldn't be seen. I leaned against the house, listening. Because listening is what I do.

"What do you think they'd say?" Max asked Fang, slamming another dish into the drying rack. "What would they think?"

A pause. "I don't know." Fang said. "Does it matter?"

I heard the water letting out of the sink through the drain. Max was done dishes. "It does matter. It matters to me and it should matter to you." I imagined her turning to Fang and crossing her arms.

"Did I say it didn't matter to me?"

"You implied it."

Fang sighed. "I didn't mean it."

"Good."

There was a pause.

"So…" Fang said. He sounded closer to the window now. "Should we tell them?"

"I don't know, Fang…" Max's voice hadn't moved.

Their voices had become quieter. Not that it was a real problem, with my hearing.

"Why does it matter?" Fang whispered. "It's not like it would hurt them."

"I know but…"

"But what?"

"I don't know…"

"Well you should figure it out soon."

"Why soon? What's the rush?"

"No rush. I'm just tired of hiding it."

Another pause. A longer one. Not actually that long, but too long for my liking. I strained to hear anything at all. Then I heard a really soft smacking sound, then nothing else.

Damn it…They just kissed…I knew something was up between them…

And it made me angry.

I got up. I didn't care if they saw me. Making my way to the door, I gathered up all the anger I had. Wasn't hard.

I heard them both gasp when I came in. The distinctive intakes of breath came from the same place in the kitchen, by the sink. Max sounded more surprised than Fang. Figured. If he had her pinned to the counter, with her back to the window, he would see me, even if she didn't.

Yet he'd still kissed her again.

That son of a…

I slammed the door open, came in, and slammed it closed again, using my anger.

Hoping my facial expression showed the anger, I went right by them, like I didn't know they were there, like they knew I knew they were there, and straight to my room. I slammed that door too.

It wasn't exactly dramatic. But I hoped that they knew something was up. A warning…A warning to Fang…

Fang…

I had thought he was my best friend. Right up there with Gazzy. I thought he understood me, like the rest of the Flock didn't.

I thought he'd be able to tell how I felt.

Guess I was wrong.

I laid on my bed for a while. Max or Fang didn't come to see what was up. Didn't check on me. It hurt. Didn't they care?

I heard the kids come home and tell Max and Fang about the latest round of explosions. I would've loved to be there with them, but I didn't think I'd be able to handle being around Max and Fang right now.

No one came to get me for dinner. I guess Fang cooked. Besides me, of course, he was the best cook. No one ever complained when Fang cooked.

So I waited until I could hear the kids go to bed. There was a knock on my door.

"Huh?"

The door opened. "Good night, Iggy."

I smiled. "Good night, Gasman."

He paused. "Are you okay?"

I sat up on the bed and looked over the where the door was. "Yeah. Do you think I'm not?"

"Well…Kinda…" I imagined him shrugging.

"Well, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay…Thanks for doing the fireworks today. It was a lot of fun."

"Anytime, buddy. Good night."

"Good night."

The door closed. I fell down onto the bed again. My stomach growled, and I realized I'd skipped dinner. It was probably getting late, so I got up and headed for the kitchen, hesitating because Max and Fang hadn't gone to bed yet.

But dang was I hungry…

Hunger wins. Hunger always wins.

I knew they were there. I could hear their breathing, on the couch, close to each other. It wasn't that they weren't breathing normally, just that the sound led me to know that they were close together.

Wordlessly, I warmed up some leftovers in the microwave. Sadly, it would be a full minute before I could take the food out of the microwave and hibernate to my room again. So I had to lean against the counter in that time. The only sound was the microwave. It was awkward.

"Are you okay, Iggy?"

Fang's voice shocked me.

"Huh?"

"I know you heard me."

"So what if I did?"

"You're in a bad mood today, Iggy." Max said.

"So? Is that a problem?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"Too bad."

A pause. The microwave went off, so I took my food out, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and started to head for my room.

"Iggy?"

I sighed. "What, Fang?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

Max was clearly on Fang's side when she spoke. "I don't believe that. You're not acting right. What's wrong?"

I emphasized the word. "Nothing."

I heard one of them get up from the couch. Fang. I could just tell.

"Iggy…"

"No. I'm not talking." I turned to go to my room. Fang followed and grabbed my arm before I could leave the kitchen.

"Iggy…Come on. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

I could sense that he was staring at me. I stared back. He let go of my arm.

"Fine. Be that way. But don't say we didn't try to talk to you." He moved back to the couch.

I stood there for a moment, then continued to my room.

After closing the door, I set my food down on the bed, sat down, and ate in silence.

Well, it was pretty much silence, except for my thoughts, which were filled with curse words directed at Fang.

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_**Sorry it took a while. Hopefully Chapter Four won't take as long…Please Read and Review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Okay…Here…Don't know what to say about this chapter at the moment…But I'm in a better mood lately so I might update more. Just saying.**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride. Wish I did though…**_

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Iggy's POV

My bad mood continued throughout that night. But, it was wasted; I stayed in my room and didn't get the chance to take my anger out on anyone. When I woke up, around noon, judging from the heat coming in from the open window, my mood was better, but still kind of bad. I've been in worse and better moods…

Walking into the kitchen, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy all gave me happy 'good mornings.' Angel was talking to Max about something, and I felt Fang's presence. I stopped and grinned, disguising my mood.

"I smell the distinct aroma of failure in the air." I said.

"Shut up, Iggy." Max said. "You're the one that woke up late. So everyone can blame Iggy for their bad breakfast."

"I believe that you just insulted your own cooking, Max."

A pause. "I'm glaring at you, Iggy."

So that was how I casually dealt with my anger and frustration for the rest of the day. I funneled it all into cutting comments and witty insults. Unfortunately, I focused some of my anger towards those who didn't deserve it. To be specific, Nudge and Gazzy…Angel was safe because she knew when I was going to comment on something she said and would always quickly change the subject before I could say it…But mainly my comments were towards Max and Fang.

Which was good. Because most of them were perverted jokes that only they were old enough to understand. Not saying that the younger ones didn't somehow know what I meant…I don't know how…

Anyways…

Max and Fang had obviously noticed. But they didn't confront me about it. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to ask about it or not…Not being sure only added to the bad mood. In general, that day sucked.

And it was definitely made more suck-y when Max and Fang talked to me that night.

I was just kind of in my room, laying on my bed and listening to random music from my MP3 player. I had the volume down low, so I could hear when they knocked and came in. I turned the music volume up.

They were both there. I knew that. I could feel their presence. A hand touched mine and took hold of the music player. The hand was bigger than mine. Fang. After a moment, the music stopped, so I sighed and ripped the earphones out of my ears, sitting up.

"What do you want?"

"Just to talk." Max said.

"You've been acting weird and we want to know why." I hated it when Fang just went off of Max's sentences like that…

"We don't always get what we want." I replied smoothly.

I could practically feel Fang's anger in the air between us.

"Iggy. Tell us." Max's tone of voice was almost as intimidating as Fang's anger.

"No."

I heard Fang inhale. Then Max whispered, "Fang, no…" and he was quiet again. No matter how much he acted like a tough guy, he listened to her like a well-trained dog. He always did what she said…

"I'm not telling you." They'd never know what was wrong. If I told, it would make my life a who lot more awkward than it needed to be, and I didn't need any more difficulty in my life…

I could sense Fang's presence get a little bit closer. Intimidatingly closer.

"Yes, you are." he said quietly. He was trying the scare me into telling him. He'd done it before, and it usually almost worked. He'd lower his voice and practically growl at me, get closer like this. Maybe if I were a girl I might find it seductive, but I'm not a girl and I'm not gay.

And it wouldn't get me to talk.

So I stayed silent. Fang did too. And Max.

For a full minute, there was silence. Until Fang said something.

"Is it something you don't want Max to know about? Would it help if she left? Would you talk then?"

It surprised me a little that he cared that much. I was hoping to show I was angry, and I guess I succeeded at that, enough so to make Fang, the emotionless incarnation of darkness, concerned for me. I wasn't sure if I was glad that he cared or not.

My answer to that would be important…Trying to think of the safest answer, I replied.

"If it was something I didn't was Max to know about, I wouldn't admit it now, would I?"

"Then what is it?" Max asked.

I didn't answer. I started feeling anger again. Why couldn't they just let it go? I know that I can have a pretty quick temper, so I tried my hardest to control it…

"If you don't care if Max knows or not, why not say it?"

"Because I don't want you to know either, Fang." I was answering through my teeth now. Just to show that I was getting mad. Fang had already sensed my anger and had backed away from me.

"But I really want to know, Ig." He'd backed off physically, but he wasn't going to let up. He's stubborn like that. "Come on, you can't hide it forever. Get it over with now. If you keep making a big deal of it, then so will we. Just say it now."

"No. You don't want to know."

"Yes we do, Iggy." It was unusual for Max to be this left out in a conversation, and I guess now she noticed it and didn't like it so was going to make herself a part of the conversation. "If we didn't want to know, then do you really think we'd be making such a big deal of getting you to tell us?"

"We want to know, Ig." Fang went off of her sentence again… "Just tell us."

I inhaled quickly, grasped the anger, and used it to speak directly to Fang.

"No! You won't be able to handle the fact that I love your girl!"

I realized what I'd said almost a full second after I'd finished saying it and shut my mouth.

Shit…

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_**Can you say cliffhanger??? Sorry, just thought it was a good place to end. I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP. Actually, I'm working on it right after this one, so I might get both chapters up today…We'll see.**_

_**Please review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay…Nothing to say…I know I left the last chapter at a cliffhanger…so I won't delay the continuing of this story…**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride.**_

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Iggy's POV

Had I actually said that? Holy crap…

Max hadn't taken a breath, or she had, and it had somehow gotten past my hearing…I wasn't even listening for Fang. I probably should've been…He'd be more dangerous than Max…More than willing to beat the crap out of me…

"Iggy…" Max whispered. "Is that true?"

I took a deep breath, getting ready to respond. Then I chickened out, and breathed out. Another breath in, chickened out. Breath in, breath out…

Damn it…

So I gave up on talking. I turned around, opened the window, and jumped out.

They didn't follow me. I didn't hear their wings.

I kept flying for a while. It felt like forever. I could've gone on forever, but that was physically impossible for me, so I had to land. It was always a mystery to everyone how I could flawlessly land on a perfect tree branch without missing it, without slipping, without hitting my head on a higher branch. I barely knew how I did it, but I usually barely had to focus, because Gazzy would be with me and I'd hear him land…

But, this time, I landed on a thin branch. It broke, I fell, landed with a thicker branch to my crotch…Adding insult to injury…Or maybe the other way around, in this situation…

But my mistakes make sense. I was blind, distracted, upset, angry, and tired from flying for as long as I had…At least I hadn't died…and I was pretty sure the damage to my "valuables" wasn't permanent…

I didn't move from there. I recovered from the blow to the groin rather quickly, it seemed. But I stayed there. I'm ashamed to admit that I cried. That's the kind of guy I am.

Damn it! What had I just done?! At least now they'd know why I was in such a bad mood. They asked to know. No, they demanded to know. They brought this on themselves. Whatever happened next was their own damn faults…

But what if Max didn't love me back? That terrified me more than anything. And I didn't mean the motherly love she had for all of us. I meant the love she gave Fang…What if she didn't love me like that? Like I loved her? That would be the worst thing…

After a while, I started getting cold. Deserts are hot during the day, but get cold when the sun goes down. And it didn't help that I wasn't moving…The chills just completed my mood. I guessed if Max didn't love me back, I'd feel cold inside like this all the time…That would make my whole life miserable…

I made a mental list, comparing myself to Fang, which was kind of difficult, since I wasn't really sure what girls actually liked, what he looked like that apparently made him attractive…So my list was pretty basic. I was tall and weak, he was tall but strong; I'd been told I had cloudy eyes, and also been told that he had dark eyes; my hair was always a mess, and apparently his was "long, dark, and beautiful," quoting Nudge…

He could give shallow compliments like "you're sexy" and I can make meaningful statements about personality because I'm not affected my looks…His touch was probably cold and rough, while mine would be gentler…When an argument depended on a sense of humor, I always won against Fang…

He'd already won her heart. I hadn't.

I decided that I should get used to the cold…

I have no idea how long I was there before Max came. I heard her wings from about half a mile away. The beat of her wings was strong, but not quite as strong as Fang's. I knew she'd be there soon. I straightened myself physically into a sitting position on the tree branch and straightened myself mentally into a calmer state, wiping the tears away, and waited for her, listening to her getting closer and closer until she landed next to me. I wished I could see her flying…I knew it would be graceful and beautiful…

She didn't say anything. Just sat close to me.

It was almost ten minutes until she said anything.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

I just nodded, looking down at the ground.

She was silent again. We were both silent. For a few minutes.

I hated silence. It drove me insane. So I broke it. I hesitated to break it though…I wasn't sure if my voice would sound normal after my groin had taken the blow it had, however long ago that had been…

I sighed, deciding to take a chance on my voice, hoping it didn't sound like I'd been hit in the balls or that I'd been crying. "I'm sorry, Max…" She shifted next to me. "I…I'm just…"

"Jealous."

I nodded. "Obviously. And…I got mad…And…I don't know." My voice sounded almost normal…I was glad…

"Did you talk without thinking?"

I was a little surprised at the question. "Um…No…" I sighed again. "I meant what I said."

She didn't reply.

Another sigh. "I meant it. I don't regret saying it." I looked over in her direction. "Do you have any idea how hard it is…to like someone, love someone, but know that they don't love you back, and instead love your sibling and best friend?"

No response for a moment. I guess she shook her head, then remembered I was blind, and said, "No…I don't…"

"Well I do. With you and Fang." I sighed yet again. "I love you, Max. And…It drove me insane that you didn't notice me…"

She didn't say anything.

I reached out for her hand. She touched my hand with her left hand, the one closest to me, but I reached across her for her right. My hand followed her arm up to her shoulder, pausing there for a moment, then continuing up her neck and to her cheek. I could feel that she was tense, biting her lip, just from the feeling of her jaw muscles moving under her soft skin…I held her head there, my fingers along her jaw line, and moved my head forward until my forehead touched hers. We were close; I could feel her breath.

I swallowed. Holy shit. What was I thinking?

Why did I care?

I…didn't know…

I just didn't know anything anymore. I wasn't sure if what I was doing would be a good or bad thing. But how would I know until I did it? What would happen if I didn't? I wouldn't know that either if I didn't…Dang it, why did life have to be so complicated…

But if I didn't do this now, I might never get the chance to try again.

So I turned my head to the side and slowly moved forward until our lips touched.

It was weird…I had no clue what the hell I was doing. At least, for the other kids in the Flock, they could see what was on TV. and would kind of halfway know what to do. Nope. Not me…So I was left to go on instinct.

I almost panicked when Max didn't do anything. She didn't kiss me back at all…

So I pulled away.

Damn, did I wish I could've seen her face, her reaction…

I stayed close, our foreheads together. I wanted her to say something first. I hoped she would…I wondered what she was thinking. I realized I still had my hand on her cheek and used the information from that to guess her thoughts.

She was tense again. She wasn't biting her lip, but her jaw was clenched. I moved my thumb upwards, trying the feel the muscles under her eye.

I touched water.

Tears…

I backed away a little bit. Tears? Shit, what did I do…

"You're crying?" I asked, figuring out that she wasn't going to break the silence.

She nodded, even though I didn't need her to.

"Why?"

This time she shook her head. "I don't know…"

"No. I'm not accepting that. Tell me now."

"Iggy, you're just so…"

"So what?"

She paused.

I stopped for a moment, then my mind went to the worst possible situation. "You…You don't love me back…Do you?"

No response.

"Max, I love you. If you don't love me back"--the cold chill seeped under my skin again--"then I deserve to know why."

I knew she was crying now. I could hear it in her voice, and felt the tears on my hand.

"Iggy, I love you. Just…you're…"

It hit me.

"I'm just…not Fang?"

No answer.

The chill went deeper. I could feel my heart starting to go cold.

"Fang's better than me…" I couldn't stop myself from going on. "He's better than me, and you love him more…You'd rather be with him…I'm not important to you…"

"Iggy, you are important to me…"

"Not as important as Fang…You chose him over me…" I could feel my eyes watering. I didn't want to wipe the tears away.

"That doesn't mean you're not important."

"Bull-shit…" I cried, taking my hand away from her face.

I turned away from her and launched myself off of the branch, spreading my wings in the limited space I had in the midst of all the trees.

My wings hit the trees on either side of me, and it hurt. But I didn't care. I pushed the air down hard to go upwards fast. I burst through the tree leaves and into the night air. I wasn't sure which way I was going. But I knew I wasn't going south south-east, towards the house.

That was the one place I wasn't going tonight.

The planet is pretty big. It would be pretty easy to go anywhere else but that one house.

I figured I could do it.

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_**Done! I hope that was a good chapter…Please review! And please look at my profile! I just put up a poll, because I have no clue who Max should end up with in the end of this story…So I'm asking my readers! I know a lot of people have signed up for Alerts on this story, and I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to get chapters done, but I'm trying harder! Please give me your opinion!**_

_**Thank you!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**I'm sorry for the wait! I'm so sorry! I've just been so busy and I've had some writer's block! But I'm over it now, gladly, so it's all good…And I'd like to thank Amber Incendia for getting me out of the writer's block! Much thanks!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride.**_

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Iggy's POV

What the hell had I just done?! Was I insane?! Damnit…I could've just screwed up any chance I did or did not have with Max…Damnit…

After I'd left her, I'd just kept flying. It didn't really matter that there wasn't anyone else to guide me. We all had a great sense of direction, and I was me, so I wasn't going to get lost…

It probably wouldn't matter if I did get lost though…

Max wouldn't care…

She had Fang…

Damn. I hated him…This was all his fault…It had to be his fault somehow, at least…

I felt the air change. A storm was coming. Crap…I didn't know where to land…

I sighed when I remembered why I never flew alone in a strange place…

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Max's POV

I watched Iggy fly away in shock. I wasn't sure what to do…I wasn't sure if I should chase after him and try to talk to him. That probably would've been the best thing. But Iggy had always preferred to deal with his problems on his own. That was just the type of guy he was.

Not sure what to do, and tired from the events of the day, I watched him go. My eyesight was pretty dang good, so he stayed in sight for a while. I couldn't tell if he'd be back soon or not. He could come back tonight or he could not come back for days or weeks…or he could not come back at all…

That terrified me. What if he didn't come back? Did I really think I'd hurt him that badly that he wouldn't want to come back to the only family he'd ever known?

I didn't think I had.

But it wasn't my opinion that mattered. It was Iggy's. And I'd clearly hurt him.

I'd hurt my brother…What kind of Flock leader was I?

I'm sure some people would think that I hadn't really hurt him, that it would be worse if I had accidentally broken his ribs in a wrestling match. Some would think physical pain was worse. But that's not how I think.

After Iggy had been out of my sight for a while, I looked down at the ground, about twenty feet below me.

He'd just confessed that he loved me…He'd just kissed me…

It completely went against everything I'd ever thought about Iggy. I'd always known he was a sexist pig, but I figured that it was an act, that if he ever really liked a girl he'd turn into this completely different person. He'd changed a little bit today, more uncertain and nervous, but not nearly as much as I'd thought he would. Maybe I didn't know him as well as I'd thought…

Which was obviously true. He loved me, and I hadn't even noticed. I would completely understand if he hated me now…

I sighed, figuring that Fang would start wondering where I was if I wasn't back soon. He was kind of annoyingly protective like that sometimes, but I understood. I was like that with the rest of the Flock. I needed someone to be like that with me.

It didn't matter to me that it was dark, since I could still make my way home. The cool air helped to clear my head, made it easier to think.

I wasn't sure what I thought about anything. I knew that I loved Fang, and that I loved it when he kissed me. But…I hadn't exactly hated it when Iggy had kissed me. I had been in shock so hadn't kissed him back, and cried because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not…but it was hard to admit that to myself, that I might love Iggy too…

Fang was waiting for me when I climbed in through the window. He was in the kitchen, practically glaring at nothing in particular. He looked completely pissed off.

I watched him for a minute. He'd said that I should go talk to Iggy because I'd be more likely to get something out of him. He'd told me not to stay out too long because it was going to storm tonight, which I remembered only now that Iggy was gone without a clue about the storm…More guilt for me…

"So how'd it go?" Fang asked me. He'd barely moved after I'd come back. He was still leaning against the counter, facing the living room, with his arms crossed and that out-of-it look on his face.

I stood next to him and crossed my arms too. "It went okay…"

"Where is he?"

"He flew away…"

"And you didn't go after him? He doesn't know there's a storm coming…"

"He probably knows by now…He'll be able to tell…"

"If you think so…Did he tell you anything?"

I paused.

Fang looked over at me. Well…He kind of did. He didn't turn his head, but looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "What'd he say?"

I sighed. "Nothing really new…"

"He…really loves you?"

I nodded. "Yeah…"

There was another pause. I didn't feel Fang's eyes on me anymore.

I heard a quiet crack and turned to him. He was clenching his fists tightly, so tightly that they were cracking.

"Fang?" I asked. I could tell he was getting angry, but didn't completely understand why.

He didn't answer for a second. "He deserves any of the hurt he's feeling now."

I turned completely towards him. "What?" I asked incredulously. "What the heck do you mean by that?"

Fang shrugged. "I meant what I said."

The nonchalant tone in his voice made me mad.

"How does he deserve it? That makes no sense."

"It would if you were a guy."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't give me that."

"Well what else do you want me to give you?"

His voice had a certain edge to it that concerned me. He still hadn't looked at me. I moved to be in front of him, looking up. He avoided my eyes, looking over my head.

"What's wrong, Fang?"

No answer.

"Fang? What's bugging you? What did you mean by what you said?" I tried to sound in control, tried to command him to tell me. But, if was Fang, and he was a difficult person to order around.

There was a silence for a moment, then he looked down and met my eyes. His eyes were dark. Not just in the color, but the look in them. Dark, a bit emotionless, uncaring…

"Any bad feelings he's feeling now he brought on himself. He knows that there's something between you and me, yet he still went for you anyways. It's his fault he's going to be disappointed."

I took a second before I responded, letting his words sink in. "That…That's not like you Fang. Since when are you that uncaring?"

"Since he tried to take you."

"Take me? Like I'm yours to begin with?"

"Well, yeah…"

That answer made me angrier. I stepped back from him.

"I don't belong to you! Are you really that sexist?"

He looked at me calmly. "He shouldn't have tried to take you."

'Take me'…I hated those words now.

"How can you be so insensitive?! What if you were in his position?!"

"But I'm not."

He just looked at me with that calm look in his eyes.

It drove me insane.

So I slapped him.

"I can't believe you're so sexist! How did I ever love such an insensitive, uncaring, sexist son of a bitch!!"

I stormed out of the kitchen, fuming, to my room.

Angel was standing in the door to her room, clutching a stuffed rabbit to her chest, looking afraid. She looked up at me, mentally asking what was wrong.

For once, I sent a thought to her that said not now. I didn't even stop to fake a smile at her before entering my room and slamming the door so hard that the door came off its hinges. I yelled in anger, threw the door to the side, and resorted to closing myself in my closet.

It was pretty quiet here, except for my crying, which I tried to keep quiet. I had a bunch of soft stuffed animals and such to snuggle up with…

After about ten or twenty minutes, someone came into the room. I immediately silenced myself and listened carefully.

"Max?"

Gazzy.

I wasn't sure what he wanted, but I was sure that it was important…but I really didn't want him seeing me in this emotional hormonal state…

I figured he would've heard me yelling and know I was upset, and wouldn't come to see me unless it was important. It took me a second to figure out how to get the closet door open from the inside, but when I did, Gazzy was right there. It surprised me a little. Paranoid, I wiped at my eyes again. He looked like he'd been crying too.

"Max?"

"What is it, Gaz?"

He didn't answer at first, then he looked down and reached out to me. I leaned down and hugged him close.

"Things aren't right, are they?" he asked softly.

I didn't lie to him. "No…"

"But it's not trouble with the Whitecoats or Erasers…"

"No."

He paused, then snuggled closer to me. "When's Iggy gonna come back? Is he okay? Are you and Fang gonna fight all the time now?"

I sighed and pulled him away, leaning down to his level, looking him in the eyes. "I don't know when Iggy's gonna come back. Hopefully soon. And…I don't know about me and Fang."

He nodded sadly. "I don't like it when you two fight."

"Aww…" I hugged him again.

Damn, Gazzy could be adorable. Unfortunately, he was only this innocent and scared when things were terrible, not on a regular basis.

I got him back into bed. I hadn't realized it was so late, and the storm had started. I really hoped Iggy was okay…If he wasn't, I'd feel terrible about it…

Maybe if things got worse with Fang, I could leave for a day or two and go to look for him…Maybe…

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_**WOO-HOO!! This chapter was kind of more depressing than intended, but it was needed, and I have an idea where the story's going now, so it's all good. Thanks to those readers who answered my poll question and reviewed! So far the poll isn't helping much…It's giving me the expected answer…Pretty much a tie between Iggy and Fang…Anyways…Please read and Review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	7. Chapter 7

I love posting a chapter one day, then going to school, logging on to my e-mail the next day and finding so many reviews for that chapter…It makes me smile. I'll get the next chapter up quick if you guys review again, k? K. Not much to say about this. I'll just get to the story…And I'm aware that this is kind of what happened with Max when she was taken in by Ella's mom, but I realized it after I wrote it and figured out where it was going so it's probably the best road this story can take…

I don't own Maximum Ride. If I did, Iggy would be a more major character…

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_**Max's POV**_

_**I ended up falling asleep with my door open, since it didn't close anymore…I'd have to fix that…**_

_**While I was still waking up, I realized I'd slept in later than usual. The sun was higher in the sky, and my clock said 11. Crap…Breakfast…I bet those kids are starving…**_

_**So I rushed to get ready and out to the kitchen.**_

_**I was surprised to see the kitchen table cleared, Nudge doing dishes, and everyone else in the living room, watching T.V.**_

_**It took me a second to comprehend, so Nudge answered my unasked question.**_

"_**Fang cooked." she said. "It wasn't as good as usual, but no one threw up. And he made me do dishes…I told him I really didn't want to but then he said I had to cuz he said and he was in charge cuz you were still asleep so I didn't really have a choice…"**_

_**He'd gotten everyone up and dressed? He'd made a breakfast that didn't make anyone throw up? He even got Nudge to do dishes! I'd never been able to do that before!**_

"_**Good morning, Max!" Angel came and hugged me. I had no choice but to hug her back. "Guess what?"**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**Fang said we could go out for a picnic for lunch! You have to get ready cuz we're gonna leave soon!"**_

"_**Really? Did he say that?" Angel nodded, then her T.V. show came back on so she hugged me again and sat back down in her designated spot next to Gazzy, who looked happier.**_

_**I immediately found Fang on the couch and glared at the back of his dark head. He turned half-way and met my eyes. They were still emotionless…We stared off for a moment. It was always interesting to see who would win. I was stubborn, but he was Fang…**_

_**He ended up winning. I turned away.**_

"_**You're welcome." he said.**_

_**I stopped in front of the counter with my hand on the knob to cabinet door. "For what? Being an ass-hole?"**_

"_**No. For letting you sleep. I figured you needed it, since I walked by what used to be your door last night and heard you talking in your sleep and you only do that when you're super-tired…And I thought the kids would like a day out…"**_

_**I stopped for a second, then shook my head. "Screw you, Fang." Taking a Pop-Tart, and headed back to my room, wanting to slam the door that wasn't there.**_

_**He drove me insane.**_

_**He'd actually just decided to take control of the Flock. It would've been fine, had I not learned how sexist he was…I guess now he thought I wasn't fit to control the kids…**_

_**Not only that, but he was doing better than I was. He'd gotten Nudge to do dishes. He'd cooked. He'd planned a day out that the kids were excited for. He had practically taken over my Flock overnight…**_

_**And he had to say that in front of the rest of the Flock? So what if I talked in my sleep? Wasn't it creepy that he had stayed in my room at night listening to me talking long enough to figure out what I was dreaming about?**_

_**So what if I had dreamed about Iggy?**_

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_**Iggy's POV**_

_**Damn, was I lucky I'd found a place to stay during the storm…Given, it wasn't the best. As far as I could tell, it was just an overhang of trees…Not very much protection against the rain, and I really hoped it wasn't a very tall tree, so it wouldn't attract lightning…**_

_**I hadn't realized it would be so difficult to find a shelter. I'd run on the ground for about 20 minutes, trying to find somewhere, which was difficult, with the wind and rain…So then I was soaked to the bone, shivering in my pitiful little shelter that didn't help at all.**_

_**And I was still soaked and cold and shivering. I supposed it would've been smart to bring a change of clothes, but I hadn't had the chance to go back to the house to get anything.**_

_**So it was my own fault. I'd asked for it.**_

_**And the cold had seeped in from Max preferring Fang over me. That made the rainwater even colder and made it seep deeper into my body…**_

_**I wondered what Max was doing at that moment. There were a lot of things she could've been doing. Laundry, home-schooling, cleaning, or just doing nothing, playing with one of the kids…**_

_**I didn't like the possibility that she was alone with Fang. That made me angry. So I tried not to consider that.**_

_**Maybe she was thinking of me? Maybe she wanted me to come back?**_

_**But then, maybe she was happier with me gone, and wanted things to stay like that so she wouldn't have to deal with me…**_

_**I tried not to consider that either.**_

_**I was still in my little hide-out, trying to figure out what to do. I'd been up all night. Half because of the storm, half because too much was on my mind. I'm pretty sure I cried for a long time, thinking of Max. I liked to think that she was doing the same, even though she most likely wasn't…**_

_**So I drifted in and out of sleep in my wet little shelter, shivering and cold from the inside out.**_

_**The next thing I knew, there was something on my shoulder. I woke up immediately and swatted it away, trying to back away further into the tree behind me.**_

"_**Hey! Wait!"**_

_**I paused. The voice was calm and comforting, definitely male. I was still shaking, both from cold and fear.**_

"_**Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you…"**_

_**I tried to slow my breathing.**_

"_**There you go, kid…You cold?"**_

_**I wasn't even awake enough to give him a sarcastic "hell no, why would you think that?" All I could manage was a nod.**_

_**I hear a zipper, then felt a jacket being pushed against me.**_

"_**Wh-wh-who are you?" I asked.**_

_**I couldn't hear his answer. Either my brain was so foggy that I don't remember how I got from the forest to a warm bed or I passed out.**_

_**All I remember is that I woke up under warm covers and didn't want to move. I didn't care that I had no clue where I was, I was just glad I could sleep.**_

_**So I did. When I finally woke up, it felt like I'd slept for days. I sat up in the strange bed and started to wake up.**_

_**A door hinge creaked, and I jumped.**_

_**A laugh. "Good morning, sleepy-head."**_

_**I froze, then remembered what had happened. "Where am I?"**_

_**The voice was closer now. "My house. Guest room." I felt something be put on the bed at my feet. "I had a feeling you'd wake up soon. Thought'd I'd dry your clothes off."**_

"_**My clothes?" I suddenly realized that I didn't have my shirt or jeans on. "You took off my pants?! That's creepy!"**_

_**Another laugh. This guy laughed a lot. "Well, it was either that or let you freeze with the pants on. Sorry, kid, but you were freezing. I figured you'd prefer to be warmer."**_

_**That didn't help. I held the sheets closer. At least he'd left my underwear…**_

_**I reached down to the foot of the bed, feeling around until I found them. They were warm, just out of the dryer, probably. I stopped. "Who are you?"**_

"_**I already told you."**_

"_**I forget…"**_

_**A chuckle. "Jim Turner."**_

_**I nodded. My stomach growled.**_

"_**Hungry, kid?"**_

_**I scowled at the darkness in front of me. Jim hit my shoulder. Just from the strength behind it, he seemed like the strong, burly type. But I could tell he didn't mean it to hurt.**_

_**I smiled. "Yeah…Kinda…"**_

"_**Okay then." I heard him get up. "You get dressed and I'll make you some nice hot soup, kay? Sound good?"**_

_**I nodded, looking up to about where his voice had come from. "Sounds good, Jim."**_

"_**When you're ready, just go out into the hall and turn left and I'll be in the kitchen, okay?"**_

_**I nodded again. He left.**_

_**The door closed. I stared ahead of me. Jim seemed nice. So far, at least. I was sure Max wouldn't approve of accepting help from a stranger, but at this point I don't really care what she thinks. If she really cared about me being safe, then she would've been with me and I wouldn't have needed to consider accepting help from a stranger.**_

_**So I figured I could stay. Until Jim kicked me out or I had somewhere else to go. And I wasn't planning on going anywhere. Well, I was planning to go anywhere but home, but otherwise I had no idea where the hell I was going.**_

_**But that was surprisingly completely okay with me.**_

_**I got up and started getting dressed. I still really didn't feel like getting up, but I thought it would probably be a good idea to get my blood pumping a little bit. It was easy for me to get dressed myself. I felt for where the tags were in my clothes, so I could tell if they were backwards, and I hadn't put a shirt on inside-out for years. I pulled on my shirt and pulled my wings in close so that Ji--**_

_**Wait…**_

_**My wings…**_

_**Shit…**_

_**He had to have seen my wings…**_

_**Crap, crap, crap…**_

_**And he had acted like he hadn't noticed when he'd talked to me. Either he was just that accepting of a person, or he was used to mutated freaks, which would mean he was a Whitecoat or something of that nature…**_

_**Crap…**_

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_**I hope this chapter was okay…Please review! I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**As promised, I submitted chapter Seven and immediately opened up a blank Word document to start this chapter. And, as a response to a review from meg, I apologize to all readers for any OOC-ness in any of the characters that I might not detect…This is just how I think they would be in this situation…I'm deeply sorry if I'm wrong…Thanks for the review though, meg!**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride.**_

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Iggy's POV

I froze I place when the realization hit me that Jim had seen my wings.

I had no clue what to do. Should I find a window and escape? Should I act like nothing was there? Wait for him to ask, but be prepared to escape when I heard any suspicious voices or phone calls?

What would Max do?

She wouldn't be in this situation. She would've woken up, panicked, and gotten out as quick as possible. She wouldn't have been out in that storm, wouldn't have run away, wouldn't have been as stupid as I had been…

But that was Max. I was not Max. I was me, Iggy.

What would Iggy do?

Iggy would pretend nothing had happened, like nothing was there.

So that's what Iggy would do.

I knew where the door was, having heard it close. Turned left, then straight, then I was lost. Crap…Where was the kitchen? I lightly touched the walls on both sides of me and walked slowly.

I hated this…It made me feel so…so helpless…so…_blind_…I didn't like feeling blind. I didn't like being blind, but if I felt it, I hated it more…

My hands touched a few picture frames. My hip bumped into a small table. I hated this…My hand went into empty space. A pretty wide space. A doorway…What if this wasn't the kitchen? God damnit…I made a difficult decision in a split second…

"Jim?" I called out. There was an echo from the doorway in front of me.

"Yeah?"

I jumped about two feet in the air. His voice had been right beside me.

He laughed. "I see you found the bathroom."

I was confused for a second, my heart still pounding, until I realized what he meant.

"Oh…yeah…I thought the echo sounded pretty bathroom-y…"

"I've been watching you for the past minute. You're blind, aren't you, kid?"

I hesitated. "Yeah…Sadly…"

"Hmm…That's fine. Need help?"

I sighed. "I just need to know where the kitchen is."

I felt his hand on my arm, leading me.

God, it was embarrassing…I hated being blind…Not being able to go anywhere by myself in a strange place…

He sat me down at the kitchen table and gave me some really hot soup. It was tasty. He was a pretty good cook…But I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to compete with my pancakes…

Jim sat across from me and was silent for a few minutes, until the silence became awkward. He seemed like the friendly, talkative type so far…

"So how does a blind teenager end up alone in the mountains during a storm?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. How does a blind teenager end up alone in the mountains during a storm?"

"I'm asking you."

I paused, reviewed all of the answers I could give him, going with the safer one. "It's complicated. Really complicated."

He paused. "Oh wait, forgot you're blind…Care to explain? I've got time." I shook my head. "Okay then…How'd you get up there?"

"I went there."

"And your parents know you're gone?"

"They're dead."

"Oh…I'm sorry…"

I shrugged and brushed it off.

"Do your guardians know you're gone?"

"Don't have any."

"Okay…Why'd you go up there?"

"Stuff was going on…I wanted to get away for a little while…"

"Didn't you know there was a storm coming?"

I shook my head. "I guess my brother forgot to tell me. I could tell in the air after a while, but I really didn't want to go home, so I didn't."

Jim paused again.

It wasn't like I was lying to him at all. I didn't have guardians. I didn't know there was a storm coming, and I had felt it in the air, which was normal. I didn't tell him I'd flown to the mountains. And the situation was complicated.

"Brother?"

"Yup. Well…Lately we've been having issues, so he's just kind of an ass-hole of a room-mate right now but yeah. I guess you could call him a brother."

"Where's your brother?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure. Probably home. Probably with Max…" I felt the cold seep in again, looking away from where Jim's voice was coming from.

"Max?"

"Our sister…That's what makes home complicated right now. I'd rather not explain."

"Okay. Are you done with that?"

"What?"

"The soup. Do you want more?"

"Yes, please."

He took the bowl and got more. Man, was I starving…

"You practically leaned this bowl, huh? Not a scrap left."

"I eat a lot. High metabolism."

He laughed. "Same here. Don't worry. I've got a bunch of food around here."

"Jim?"

"What, kid?"

"You're not gonna kick me out? Like, today? Right now?"

"Why?"

"…I don't know…I just thought you would after…"

He paused, waiting for me to finish, but I didn't.

"After seeing your back?" I nodded, holding my breath for his answer. "Nah. I won't kick you out."

That surprised me. "Really?"

"Really."

"Okay…"

"Feel free to stay as long as you like." He stood up. His chair squeaked a little bit on the floor. "Let me know if you need any help…And I didn't catch your name."

I was still in shock from his reply…

"My family calls me Iggy."

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Max's POV

I wondered where Iggy was, what he was doing, if he had eaten in the past 12 hours, if he was freezing cold or had been attacked by some animal or…

I sighed. Now wasn't really the time to be worrying about him…I could tell Angel was reading my mind, and I didn't need her more worried.

Fang had really gotten the kids excited about this picnic lunch…I'd had no choice but to come along and try to act normal. I should've gone after Iggy, but I figured he would be okay…He knew how to take care of himself, I knew he did. Jeb had made sure we could all take care of ourselves…

I was surprised it wasn't soaking wet outside. But it had gotten hot pretty early today, so the wetness was pretty much gone, but there were still huge patches of mud in certain places place, which we had to try to keep the kids away from, since we knew what Gazzy would do if he found mud…Bad things would happen…

The lunch Fang had fixed had been pretty good. He was better at making lunch than anything. But I hadn't commented on his cooking. I'd decided to hold him in contempt. He'd caught on fast and hadn't tried to talk to me for a while, knowing I wouldn't answer.

We'd all eaten lunch, and had decided to make the most of the sunshine to play around for a little while. I'd snuck away and found a place to sit, a rock facing the direction that Iggy had flown off in last night…I considered leaving at that moment, to find him…I really did…I had a feeling he was in trouble…

I heard someone coming. Fang. I knew without looking. I didn't turn to him. "What do you want?" I asked coldly.

"To talk." He stopped a few feet away from me.

"Then talk."

"Can I sit?"

I sighed. "I don't care."

As expected, he sat right next to me, close enough that he could touch me when he wanted to.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"What's up with me? What's up with you?" I didn't look at him. I figured he was looking at me with those dark eyes, trying to get me to forgive him. I wouldn't fall for it.

"What do you mean by that?" His voice was quiet. Almost seductive. He definitely wanted forgiveness…

"Saying that about Iggy. And just being sexist in general."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I finally looked over to him disbelievingly. He met my eyes.

"I love you. Iggy knows that. He tried to take you from me. He asked for it."

"He didn't try to take me. I'm not yours to begin with. You don't control me."

"You seem pretty controlled right now. You haven't hit me."

He actually thought he could control me…

"Just because I haven't slapped you yet doesn't mean I'm under your god-damn control…"

I stood up, and finally slapped his face.

It felt good.

The sound pretty much echoed in the silence between us afterwards. It felt like a full ten seconds before he turned to me again and looked up at me.

"You love him more than me, don't you?"

I was almost in tears now. I never hit Fang and meant it, until now. "Do I really have to choose?"

He nodded.

I was pretty much overwhelmed. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

"But…I'd end up hurting one of you…"

"I don't care, as long as I'm not the one you hurt."

At that, I jumped into the sky and pulled my wings out, letting the wind carry me away, leaving Fang sitting there, watching me go with those dark eyes.

He knew what my choice was.

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_**I think this chapter is okay…Not brilliant, but maybe not terrible…Just okay…I've noticed that these chapters are getting longer and longer. I apologize. Again, apologies about the OOC-ness…I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Not much to say here…Not much at all…**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride…**_

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Fang's POV

I watched Max fly away for a while. I usually loved watching her fly. She was beautiful when she flew…

But not now. Because she was flying away from me.

That depressed me. A lot. She felt like I didn't care about her…Like I just loved her for her body…

Did it really seem like that? Had I really been stupid enough to let her think that? Apparently I had, since Max wasn't turning around and coming back to me, just kept flying off to who-knows-where to find Iggy…

I wasn't sure what she saw in him. He was stubborn, cocky, and thought he knew everything…He always cracked lame jokes and made sarcastic remarks that made her mad and complained…I never did that…

I was so sure I was better than him. Why would she leave me for him? What had he told her last night that had made Max's personality change like this? Into this quiet person, so unlike she used to be? I hated him for it. He probably just wanted me to get mad, just because he was a jerk like that and didn't like that Max loved me more than she loved him…

Jealous ass-hole…

I'd beat the shit out of him next time I saw him, for taking Max away from me…He'd pay for it…

Now I was in charge. I was always second-in-command, and, according to Max, I had already "taken over the Flock." So I assumed she wanted me to take control. I would.

When Max vanished from view, I decided to get back to the kids. They'd be wondering where I was…

As expected, when I came back, Nudge asked what was up.

I paused. They didn't really need to be involved in our crap. It was between Max, Iggy, and I. They didn't need to know details.

"Nothing that can be helped." I answered reluctantly. "Are you guys ready to go home?"

They clearly knew something was wrong. Smart kids.

Angel asked where Max and Iggy were when we got home. I wasn't surprised. I'd been shielding my mind from her the entire flight home, knowing she'd try to read it. It's pretty hard to shield your mind when there's so much you're thinking about. She was bound to pick up on something.

I sighed. "I don't know where they are."

"Shouldn't we try to find them?"

"No. They'll be fine."

"They're not together are they?"

"Probably not. But they will be soon. Once Max finds Iggy they'll stick together."

"Why'd they leave?"

"I don't know, Angel. If I knew I would tell you."

"You know why they left. You should tell us. We deserve to know."

"It's nothing that concerns you guys, okay?"

"No. It's Max and Iggy, and they're family, so it concerns us. Tell us."

"Just let it go, Angel."

"But-"

"Angel!"

She stopped, as did Nudge and Gazzy. All three looked at me. Angel looked terrified. It made sense. I was maybe ten times her size, and the strongest of all six of us, undisputedly. And I never raised my voice, especially at Angel…

Nudge came over to Angel, gripped her shoulders, and moved her away from me, to their room. Gazzy seemed confused for a moment, unsure what to do, then decided to follow them. The door closed, and I was alone in the kitchen.

Now they all knew I was in a bad mood and didn't want to talk about Max or Iggy. Problem solved.

But now they were terrified of me.

Good thing or bad? I wasn't sure. Good because they wouldn't get on my nerves. Bad because now…they were scared of me. I just didn't like that.

I sighed and collapsed on the living room couch.

What the hell was I going to do now?

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_**Not a long chapter, and it's probably a pointless chapter, but I had the urge to write a short chapter from Fang's POV…I'll try to not to switch between POV's too much. I kinda like this chapter…And I'm sorry to all Fang-fans, myself included, that I'm making him out to be a total and complete jerk. I know that's completely OOC and I apologize!**_

_**Please review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	10. Chapter 10

_I apologize for making Fang a butt-face in Chapter 9...I regret it because I love Fang…But I think it needed to be done for the story's sake…I don't know…But this story is finally into the double-digit chapters! Hello Chapter 10!_

_I don't own Maximum Ride._

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**Max's POV**

**I was crying as I flew away from Fang. I regretted it already. As much as I don't want to say it, there was this huge tear in my heart. But I would be better ff in the long run if I went for Iggy. It was too late to go back to Fang now; he wouldn't want me back after I'd run away like that. He wouldn't want me back if I was that unsure about what I wanted.**

**But I didn't stop. I wasn't sure what I wanted. Great.**

**But even if, in the end, I decided I wanted Fang, Iggy was still out there alone somewhere. And I had to find him, even if he didn't want me to.**

**I would understand if he was angry at me. But he had to have some common sense left and know that his best chance of survival, of not being caught by Erasers or taken back to the School, would be to come back with the rest of the Flock, where we all loved him and wanted him to be safe. If he didn't understand that and absolutely refused to come back with me, I'd force him.**

**So now I had a plan for once I found him. The only problem was finding him…There were so many places he could be. There were a lot of mountains around here, all covered with trees and thick forests. Easy for him to hide. And now that I thought about it, when he left, he'd been wearing some clothes that were pretty earth-toned…Damn…**

**I wiped at my eyes and continued on in the direction I'd seen him go, my eyes looking downward most of the time, but sometimes looking around to see if he was in the sky.**

**I didn't see him.**

**This was going to take a while.**

* * *

**Iggy's POV**

**There was only one reason I could find not to trust Jim. He worked from home as a Data Analyst for some company that he said was too complicated to explain.**

**That was the only reason I was a little bit reluctant to trust him. That complicated company could be the School. I didn't know.**

**But Jim was a good person. He was relaxed, laughed a lot, and cracked a lot of jokes. We were alike in those ways. He lived alone up here in the mountains, and hiked a lot, which was why he'd been the one to find me. We hung out in his living room for a little while, getting to know each other, with the radio on. The signal was crappy, but at least there was something to fill the rare awkward silences until he asked me another question.**

"**I have to go to work. Okay, kid?"**

**I perked up a little. "You mean down the hall?"**

"**Yes down the hall. Yell if you need anything, okay?"**

"**Yeah."**

**So I was kind of left alone. I heard him shuffle down the hall and close his door. About ten minutes later I heard him talking. Probably on the phone.**

**I wondered what he worked as. I'd tried not to tell him too much. He'd asked a few questions about my wings, but I tried to stick with safe answers.**

"**So…Why do you have wings?"**

"**Cuz I'm part bird."**

"**Oh…And…How did that happen?"**

**I shrugged.**

"**Okay…Well…Can you fly?"**

"**Yeah. Pretty fast, too."**

"**Really?"**

"**Yeah. It's pretty cool."**

"**And…Your brother and sister…Do they…?"**

**I hadn't answered. I guessed that he took that as a yes.**

**And that had kind of been the end of it.**

**I really hoped he didn't work for the School. He seemed like a really nice person. I didn't want him to be my enemy.**

**He wasn't really nice enough to be a replacement for Jeb. Not nearly nice enough to replace Jeb. He was the only father figure I would ever have, and the rest of the Flock would surely agree. But he would be a nice guardian to have around. Nice, funny, relaxed. But I was still sure Max would kill me for trusting him at all…**

**Max…**

**I wondered what she was doing. I truly had no idea, and that bothered me.**

**Maybe she missed me? Maybe she really wanted me back?**

**Maybe she was with Fang…Maybe she was glad I was gone…**

**That thought made me sad. I decided I was still tired, and laid down on the couch.**

**I suddenly thought about Gazzy. He was sure to miss me. I was angry at myself for not thinking about him until now. He was probably miserable…He was my little buddy and he was probably bored as hell without me…I felt guilty about it…Maybe he'd hate me for leaving like that.**

**Great. Not only would Fang and Max hate me for being me, but Gazzy would hate me for leaving. Nudge? I wasn't sure. Maybe she'd be mad. Angel? She would read my mind, probably would understand, and would hopefully forgive me. So MAYBE I would have one other person on my side. Maybe…**

**I sighed, falling asleep again. I hated this…So difficult…**

**I slept pretty peacefully on that couch, which surprised me, since I had to curl up on my side to fit, due to the small size of the couch and my height.**

**But my sleep was disturbed when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was light, and I might not have felt it if I wasn't always on guard when I slept in a strange place. But I woke up instantly, not completely awake but aware, and tried to get away from the hand. I ended up on the hardwood floor by the couch.**

"**Ow…" I moaned.**

"**Kid, it's okay. It's just me, Jim…"**

**The hand came back, hesitating this time. I was still kind of asleep, but awake enough to know that I probably wasn't going to get hurt…**

**Suddenly there was a needle in my arm. It hurt, and I tried to get away again.**

**Jim was strong. I wasn't.**

**Then I had no idea what was happening. Before I knew it, there were other voices around me, and I was completely restrained. I couldn't get away.**

**Shit…**

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_**I think I'm in a cliff-hanger-type mood lately…Not a bad thing…Let me know what you think in a review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Sorry this took forever! I really thought I posted Chapter Ten but I didn't! I'm so sorry!**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride…**_

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Iggy's POV

Whatever Jim injected into me knocked me out long enough for them to move me somewhere besides that comfortable couch.

When I woke up, I was laying in what felt like grass.

I immediately tried to stand. It was hard, because I was still kind of under the effects of the drug, but I shook it off.

There were voices coming from…about 30 feet away from me. They sounded distinctly Whitecoat-ish…

"He's awake…"

"I see that."

"Oh…Okay…Sorry…"

"Can I get him now?"

"Not yet…"

"Why not?"

"Just wait…"

There was a very Eraser-ish growl.

"Experiment Number 06-01." one of the human voices shouted.

It was Jim.

I turned to the sound. "I guess that's me…" I mumbled. I vaguely wondered why I was "01"…

"You are the subject of an experiment, as you know, to perfectly combine human and avian DNA."

Really? I thought sarcastically. That's news to me…

"We haven't run any tests on you in a while, and you've clearly grown, so we are going to test your growth since those last tests. If you cooperate, the Eraser we have here will not attack you."

Oh, man…What did I say about hating it if he was my enemy?

Now that he mentioned it, I felt a few of those sticky monitors on my skin, which brought back memories from the original School. They had taken off my shirt, and the monitors were on my chest, back, arms, and neck.

"And if I refuse to cooperate?"

"Then he attacks. And he really wants to attack."

I chuckled. "And what's to keep me from just flying away?" I flexed my wings to make my point.

"The fact that we've implanted a tracking chip into you. And we could follow you wherever you go. Back to the other experiments, for example."

The rest of the Flock…He had a good point…

What was more reasonable? Try to beat the Eraser? I probably wouldn't have a chance…Try to escape with the tracker in my arm and hope they don't follow me? They would definitely follow me, and I wouldn't be able to fool the tracker and lead them to the wrong place. Cooperate with them? Stupid…but probably wouldn't get me killed…

I made one of the snap decisions that Max was so famous for, then forced her away before thoughts of her could seep into my mind and distract me.

I sighed. "What would these experiments entail exactly?" I asked.

There was a dark chuckle. "These experiments would entail defeating the Eraser."

I should've figured…

The Eraser growled, clearly happy, and I heard him jump. He was big, I could tell, just by how much the air moved when he did.

He was on me in another second.

I was screwed. He was about twenty times my size, as far as I could tell, and ran into me with the force of a huge bus.

* * *

Max's POV

I was almost ready to give up on finding Iggy. I never give up, but that just shows how the search had gone…But I heard familiar shouts from the woods about half a mile away.

Familiar…As in…Iggy…

I immediately turned that way, pouring on the speed, making my wings beat even faster than they had in a long time…

Only to find Iggy being attacked by a giant Eraser, with two Whitecoats watching.

Damn…I leave him alone for a little while and he gets himself into trouble…

I sighed at his stupidity, wondering how he'd gotten himself into this mess, then dived downward at the steep angle, straight towards Iggy and the Eraser.

There was blood, and I'm pretty sure Iggy couldn't have caused that much damage to an Eraser that size when he was pinned down like he was.

He was hurting Iggy. He was hurting my brother.

So I had to do something.

So I dived down at the Eraser, gathering up all of my anger so I could just go into a blind rage and beat the shit out of him…Easy to do…

He didn't see me until the Whitecoeats shouted out at him to look up and he did. But he looked up right as my foot ran into his jaw and he was knocked off his feet. I was pretty sure I felt a crack.

The Eraser was thrown out of the way, but he would recover fast, so I had to grab Iggy and get the hell out of here…

He looked terrible. He was on the ground, in a little ball, shirtless, curled up to protect his chest and stomach. Smart. I leaned down and put my arm around his.

"Iggy!" I yelled in his ear. "Get up! We're going!"

He recognized my voice instantly and got up with me. We both spread our wings and jumped to take off just as the Eraser got up and jumped at us.

We were already almost ten feet in the air, after less than a second after taking off, but he jumped and got us.

To be specific, his claws raked at my leg.

I screamed for a second, then got it together and pushed my wings downward again. But the Eraser had latched on to my leg.

"You're not getting away that easy, you little…" he growled.

Iggy had let go of me, so we wouldn't be so close we'd hit each other's wings. He'd heard me scream and had come back for me.

I reached out to him as the Eraser started pulling me down. He somehow found and grabbed my hands and flapped his wings, trying to pull me back.

The Eraser tightened his grip on me and I tried not to scream. I gripped Iggy's hands tighter. He felt it.

"Max, brace your legs!" Iggy yelled at me.

I instantly knew what he was going to do and listened, holding my arms straight too.

Instead of pulling, Iggy pushed my arms, pushing me so that my feet jammed right into the Erasers face. I was pretty sure I felt bones break.

It let go of my leg as it clutched it's bleeding muzzle in pain. Yeah, it had broken.

Iggy held my hands tightly, still not letting go, backpedaling to get us out of the Eraser's reach if he jumped again. I was a little bit woozy from the pain of the gash in my leg, but I could pretty much fly in a straight line.

"You won't be able to hide, Experiment 6-1!" One of the Whitecoats yelled up at us. "We'll find you!"

I think he yelled more, but before I knew it, Iggy had dragged me far above them, into the sky. I looked down and figured they couldn't see us anymore.

"Ig," I said, "I think we can slow down now."

He nodded. The beat of his wings got a bit slower until we weren't in escape mode and were just flying like we had a purpose, which we didn't.

I studied him. He must've been in pain. I could practically sense that he flinched every time he moved his wings. He was bleeding from scars on his chest, stomach, and back. He was pretending it didn't bother him.

Of course, I wasn't in very good shape either.

"Iggy?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a cave down there. 11 o'clock. About half a mile away. Land."

He nodded and we started our descent.

_

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_

_**Again, I'm sorry I left the last chapter at a cliffhanger and then took forever to update! I promise, I'll work on the next chapter immediately. And I might be closing my poll on this story soon…so if you have an opinion, I want to hear it! Please review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Again, sorry I took forever. I've been having a few emotional issues…But I had some spare time so I thought I'd write. Enjoy!**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride, of course.**_

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Max's POV

I had to land first, with Iggy following the sound to land after me. He stumbled a little bit. I figured he was a little sedated. Those Whitecoats had to have done something to him, to be able to take him away and do what they had done to him. They hadn't looked hurt. Iggy hadn't fought back, which meant he was drugged.

My leg couldn't support my weight, and I collapsed to my knees. It hurt, since my leg was a bloody mess and I'd just banged both knees against the rock bottom of the cave…

Iggy heard it, even though I didn't voluntarily make a sound. He had stayed standing in the mouth of the cave, not doing anything in particular. His head perked up, but he didn't move towards me.

"Iggy?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

No answer.

I sighed. "Fine. Be like that. When you die from blood loss, don't cry to me." I sat back against the rock wall, eyeing the blood that was still flowing down from the scars on his chest and stomach. I guessed flying hadn't helped…But I pretended not to care. I didn't want to contradict myself. I had too much pride.

Yeah…Way too much pride…Especially right now…

He glared at me the only way a blind person can. I expected him to spin around after making his point without words and not look at me. But instead he kept looking at me, and he knew I was looking right back into his eyes as the expression in his changed.

First he was glaring at me. Then he looked more…I don't know what to call it…Afraid? Nervous? Something of that nature. Then he looked angry again, but a much less intense anger, more like annoyance. He finally sighed and he turned away from me, looking off randomly to the side. He clearly had no idea how he felt or what he was thinking or what he wanted to say…And neither did I.

It was really hard to pretend not to care about his wounds, because I did care. I could tell he was in pain, by the way he moved when he finally sat down, facing away from me and out of the cave. And it was obvious that there was a lot on his mind. Same thing with me.

I decided that I should talk to him. I was sure it would be for the best.

Disregarding the pain in my leg, I stood up and went over. I stood beside Iggy for a moment, unsure, then sat down beside him, deciding I couldn't turn back now and it needed to be done. My leg was killing me, so I stretched it out in front of me. My jeans were torn and soaked with blood, but the stain was turning to a reddish-brown color as the blood dried. I guess my quick-healing abilities were coming in handy. But it didn't help with the pain…

I couldn't postpone this talk much longer. I looked over to Iggy.

He looked angry in the way the Fang usually looks angry and pissed off. Just quiet and withdrawn…glaring out at the rest of the world…

But it was a lot different than when Fang did it. Because Iggy was a completely different person than Fang and I really had to stop comparing them…

"What's on your mind, Igs?"

"Nothing." he replied after a short pause.

I touched his arm. He kind of jumped at the contact. And not because he was blind. It was an intentional flinch away from my hand. That made it worse.

He clearly didn't want me to touch him, and if I wanted him to forgive me for what I did I shouldn't touch him. I sighed. "Iggy, talk to me."

"Words are coming out of my mouth and they are directed at you, so I am talking to you."

His moody side usually only came out when something big was on his mind.

"No. Not good enough. Talk to me about what's wrong."

He was staring straight ahead, probably not even aware that he was looking right out onto some pretty impressive scenery.

"Iggy. Talk. Now."

He pulled his knees up and put his arms around them, hiding his face in his arms. The movement must have caused some pain to the wounds on his chest, since he flinched and his grip around his knees loosened. "Don't tell me what to do…"

I sighed. "I will tell you what to do."

"You can tell me what to do but I don't have to listen."

"But I can ask you and you know that I want to know for your own good so you'll tell me."

He paused. I could tell that he didn't really have a good response to that.

"Exactly. So tell me now."

I felt like a total bitch when I realized that he was wobbling a little bit, and that he was paler than usual.

"Damn it, what are we doing…" I said, half to myself. "We need to get your wounds taken care of…"

He didn't do anything as I examined the areas where he'd been hurt. The scars had started healing. At least we healed quickly. The scars looked like they were barely closing the wounds, like if he moved they might burst open.

I figured I needed bandages. But we were in a cave. Nothing to use. We could use our jeans…But both of our jeans were pretty much covered in blood and wouldn't help.

Moving to the front of the cave, I scanned the horizon, looking for a town or something that might have a little store where I could buy something with the money I didn't have…It was getting dark now, but that would make it easier to find cities. But there was nothing. I couldn't see anything, not even with my raptor-vision…

But I happened to know that, if I hurried, the house was only a 30-minute flight away…I knew I had heavy-duty bandages at home that would work…Plus I could get some extra clothes and stuff that we might need…

I looked back down at Iggy. He was still kind of curled in on himself. Not in a way that screamed that he was in agonizing pain, but in the way that said he was having emotional troubles and needed to be left alone to sort things out.

Sighing, I made a decision.

"Iggy?"

"I'm not talking."

"Fine. Be stubborn. But that's not what I want to ask you now."

"Then what is it?"

"I might need to fly home and get some stuff really quick. Can you stay here and wait for me?"

"Sure. Fine."

"No I mean it."

I leaned down, grimacing because of my leg, and sat down in front of him with my hands on his shoulders.

"Iggy, I really need you to stay here. I'll be back and I want you to be here when I get back."

"And why do you think I'll leave?"

"I don't know, exactly, but I want you to promise. I don't want you to fly and get hurt any worse. The Whitecoats could still be out there, and they could see you if you fly. Okay?"

"Fine."

His face was a mask. I had no clue what he was thinking. I didn't like that. He was looking right at me, but I couldn't read his eyes at all. He looked like Fang when he didn't want me to know something…No, bad Max, no comparing them…

"Okay." I said, standing up with the help of his shoulders. "I'll be back. Try not to move too much okay?"

He nodded.

Acting on impulse, I took his chin, tilted his head up, and pressed my lips to his for one quick second. He was clearly surprised, so he didn't kiss me back, but he had this funny cute look on his face when I pulled away. I smiled, patted his shoulder twice, then turned and jumped out of the cave without another word.

The wind felt good going down, in my face, through my hair. I pulled my wings out and started going up into the sky, heading home.

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_**So sorry for the wait…But I suddenly have ideas. So I'll write more. I've closed the poll on this story. For those who don't know what the result was, you'll find out at the end of this story. :D Please Review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Literally just submitted Chapter Twelve. I have ideas. I feel like writing today. So that is what I shall do.**_

_**There is a slight change in the Disclaimer. I NOW OWN MAXIMUM RIDE!!!**_

_**Yeah. In my dreams. That was a lie. I don't own it…:(**_

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Fang's POV

I sighed.

Max and Iggy were both gone, and I was in charge of three little bird-kids that were scared of me because of anger issues I really don't have…

Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel had all been pretty nervous around me. Like I was some volcano that was going to erupt at any second. So I was a little angry for about five seconds and snapped at someone. I never hold it against them when they have their little temper tantrums and be brats…

It was getting late. Almost midnight. They still weren't back. And I was content with sitting right here in this exact spot in the center of the couch staring at the exact same window without getting up to get food or anything. Then, when they finally came back, they'd see how hungry I obviously am and feel guilty for staying out so long. Max will feel so bad, she'll make me something to eat and she'll serve it to me and she won't let me not eat it. She'd stuff it in my mouth herself if she had to…Then she'd get angry at Iggy, because he ran off and it's his fault that she had to stay out…She'll kick him out and then her full attention will be on me…All the kids will be in bed so we'd be completely alone…

I sighed again. Wouldn't happen.

Then I saw something in the dark. It was Max's light grey sweatshirt against the black sky, heading towards the house.

Iggy wasn't with her.

That made me happy.

I didn't move when she landed on the windowsill of the living room window. She stared at me for a good ten seconds before she realized I wasn't going to move. Once she realized that, she looked at me with those eyes she knows I can't resist.

So I sighed once again and got up, heading for the window. I stood in front of it with my arms crossed, staring at her with this look that I hoped said I was a little pissed.

She glared at me until I opened the window for her. She jumped in lightly, landing on a leg that wasn't bloody. She stood up straight and glared up at me stubbornly, and I stopped her when she tried to go by me. I pinned her against the windowsill, still looking down at her.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know what you mean." she said, emotionless. "Let me by."

"No. And you know what I mean. Your leg."

She looked down like she forgot that she was hurt, then back up at me. "Iggy was in trouble. I had to help."

"What'd he do, get himself attacked by bears? Is that why he's not here? You couldn't help him?"

She looked angry and went to knee me in the balls, but I put my hand on her thigh and pushed down so she couldn't.

"Tell me. Now."

She wasn't at all intimidated by the look I was giving her.

"Why are you back here? You left us for him, and you come back? What happened? Did you change your mind?"

She sighed and slapped my hand away from her thigh. "Don't get full of yourself. I didn't change my mind. I came back because I still live here and I have the right to come back and get some needed supplies."

She had left. She had the nerve to come back when I knew she was off with Iggy? She thought she could just leave and then come back? To rub it in my face that she'd chosen a blind pyromaniacal pervert over me? Did she have any idea of some of the jokes he could make and what he asked me and Gazzy to describe to him? I guess not, if she'd chosen him…

She tried to pass me again. I grabbed her shoulders and held her against the wall, leaning down and getting in her face.

"Max, he's not good for you."

"Says who?"

"Says Fang, who loves you and only wants the best for you."

"Well, if Fang didn't like Iggy so much, then Fang shouldn't have screwed it up with Max."

"Well, Max should come back home and give Fang another chance."

"But Iggy is waiting for Max and will be really upset if Max doesn't come back. Iggy is hurt and needs help."

"Iggy can take care of Iggy."

"No Iggy can't."

I sighed. "Does Max love Iggy more than Max loves Fang?"

She paused, looking me right in the eyes. "Max hasn't made her decision yet."

"Why did Max leave if she didn't know?"

"Because Max wouldn't be able to make a decision at home because Fang would try very hard to influence her decision."

"Fang is sorry."

She didn't reply to that right away, just looked me in the eyes. I could tell that she was torn, just by the look in those beautiful brown eyes of hers…

"Max is sorry too."

At that reply, I dropped to my knees in front of her, my arms around her thighs and my face hidden in her stomach, my eyes closed.

"Please, Max…Just give me another chance…Please…I'm begging you…"

She didn't reply. I really didn't mind. I was completely okay with that, as long as she let me be where I was. I liked it here. I felt like I really needed her. Right then. Even if, after this, she left and chose Iggy over me, I'd be fine with it if she just gave me one more night…One more chance to change her mind…

But she pushed me away. I was confused for a second, which let her walk by me without a fight. I heard her tip-toe down the hall, into her room, then into the bathroom.

I realized that she was packing a bag. She was leaving. Not going to stay. I turned around and curled up with my back against the wall, suddenly feeling insecure.

She was really leaving…She was really choosing him over me…

Max came back into the kitchen with her backpack, obviously stuffed with clothes and probably some needed medical supplies, and started putting food and bottles of water in it. I was sort of in a daze and didn't even try to stop her. I just sat there against the wall watching her.

When she finally finished, she shouldered the bag and looked at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling and I usually could…

She sighed. I usually loved it when she sighed. She always sighed when I was on top of her, kissing her neck…But this wasn't that kind of sigh…It was a sad sigh…

"You don't have to go…" I whispered.

She sighed again. Another sad sigh. "Yeah. I do. I'll come back after I have all of this sorted out."

"You don't? Then why are you leaving me for Iggy?"

"Because right now he needs me."

"I need you too…What about me?"

She paused, then came over to me. I was hoping she'd drop to her knees and kiss me hard and say that she was just making Iggy think she loved him but she really loved me…But she didn't. She patted my head and didn't say anything.

"I'll be back, Fang." she whispered. "I promise. Okay? I'm not promising anything except that I'll be back. Okay?"

I didn't reply.

She ran her fingers through my hair once, and I closed my eyes, remembering how she would tangle her fingers in the hair on the back of my head and pull me closer…But she didn't do that. She pulled her hand away and walked away. To the open window. And she jumped.

And that was it. She left me curled up into my little ball against the wall with a few wet tears rolling down my cheeks.

Why couldn't she stay with me?

Why couldn't she accept that I loved her more than I loved life itself?

Why wasn't I good enough for her?

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_**I really like how this chapter turned out. I loved telling this in Fang's point of view and having him remember some romantic times with Max. I like showing his emotional side. Anyways…Like I promised, this chapter is up within 24 hours of the last chapter. I've felt like writing. The next chapter will be really good, I hope. Please review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**In response to some reviews, in the last chapter Fang is OOC because he's that desperate. Just thought I'd clear that up. I'm sorry…**_

_**Do I ever own Maximum Ride?**_

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Max's POV

Iggy was still in the exact same place I'd left him when I got back. And I'd been gone for a good hour. Maybe he was asleep. I knew he would be all numb and stiff when I had to move him. And I would have to move him.

I landed as quietly as I could with that heavy pack on my back, which meant me landing on my bad leg and gasping out in pain, falling to the ground. Iggy broke his emotionless mask to turn around and look around for me. He got up and came over to me. It didn't surprise me when he didn't trip over me. He always knew where I was.

I tried to get up, but my leg really hurt, and I couldn't, and I was just overwhelmed about everything with Fang and Iggy…So I just stayed down, crying.

Iggy kneeled down next to me. He realized I was crying, then crossed his legs and sat next to me with one hand on my head and the other on my shoulder. His hands felt good. Gentle, barely there, comforting. I usually would've been ashamed to cry in front of anyone, but not at this moment with Iggy.

"It hurts doesn't it?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah…" The nod would've answered his question if he was asking about my leg or my heart. Both hurt.

He sighed and slowly started to take the backpack off of me. I let him, and took my arms out of the straps when I could so he could drop it next to him.

"Here. I'll make it better…" I heard zippers open and knew what he was looking for.

"I put all the first aid stuff in the left side pocket…" I told him.

He didn't reply. Just went for the pocket and got what he needed. Moving down by my legs, he was really gentle with moving my pant leg up. I whined a little bit, but it could've been worse. At least my jeans were all torn from the Eraser's claws…

Iggy was really gentle when he wrapped my leg up with the bandages. I think he did a really good job. When he was finished, he started to pack up the bag again, but I stopped him and got up on my knees. I started fixing him up. He just sat and dealt with it. I put a few 6 inch by 6 inch band-aids here and there, wrapped his arm in bandages, and put a smaller band-aid on his cheek. Otherwise, it looked like the Eraser had just played with him, swatted him around with open paws like a cat does to a bird until it accidentally kills it…He was covered with huge dark bruises that were about the size of Eraser paws…All over his back and chest…If only Erasers were cats instead of dogs and that cat-bird reference would've been more true…

After I finished, I packed up the bag and threw it against the wall of the cave, sitting back down in front of him again.

He was looking up at me with this look I'd never seen on him before. He looked just the same as he did before. Sort of blank. But I knew him better than that. I could barely see it when he swallowed. He just looked completely relaxed. He still had his legs crossed, and he was leaning back, supporting his weight on his arms.

I wasn't sure what to think of this. He was leaning back, away from me.

"Do you hurt anywhere?" I asked quietly.

He paused. "Not really."

"Not really? What do you mean like that?"

"I don't know…"

"You have to know…"

"Well I don't."

He looked down. That was his way of saying 'end of discussion.' Well it wasn't. I pulled his chin up to look him in the face. He looked up reluctantly.

"Iggy…"

"Max…"

I had to smile. "Don't mock me."

"I will." He smiled too. I just realized now how much I liked his smile. Especially when he showed his teeth. It was cute…

"Iggy…You love me right?"

"I said what I meant. And didn't I say that I love you?"

"Yeah…I guess you did say that…"

"The only question I have is this: do you love me back?"

The question threw me, even though it didn't surprise me at all.

"That's all that's wrong with me, Max." he went on. "If you didn't love me, I'd be crushed. But then, if you did, Fang would be crushed…Either way, one of us is screwed…"

He looked genuinely sad. He knew I'd end up hurting one of them.

"Now you know my problem…" I moved forward and put my arms around his shoulders, hiding my face in his neck. I felt the muscles in his neck move when he swallowed again, and he hesitated before putting his arms around my waist. "I don't want to hurt either of you…"

"Did you meet Fang at the house?"

"Yeah…" How did he know that? "How did you know?"

"He has a smell. It's on your shirt."

"Oh. Okay…" Something only Iggy would notice…

"What happened?"

I sighed, then pulled away a little bit so I could face him. "I'm pretty sure that I already hurt him pretty bad. He seemed pretty bad off when I left…"

"Oh. What'd you say?"

"I only promised him that I'd be back."

"Not that you'd choose him?"

"Not that I'd choose him. I promised I'd come back but not that I'd choose him."

"What did you mean by that? Exactly?"

I sighed quickly and pushed away from him. "Iggy, don't make this harder on me than it has to be. Please tell me you're not going to try to influence my decision. Or I won't choose either of you."

"I didn't mean it that way." He sat forward a little bit and he reached up to take my face in his hands. "You're crying. Again. Why do you always cry when we talk like this?"

I took a deep breath and wiped at my eyes, then I put my hands over his. "Because I don't know what to do…"

"What do you _want_ to do?"

"I don't know…"

He moved forward so our heads touched, like before he'd first kissed me in the tree. I thought he was going to kiss me again. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to or not.

"Max…I promise. I won't try to influence your decision. Sure, I'd be happy if you chose me, but I wouldn't be happy with it if you weren't happy with it. Even if you choose Fang, I'll be fine with it as long as you're happy. That's all I want. You to be happy. Okay?"

I nodded, sobbing. He pulled me close again, and I gave in. I curled up in his lap, feeling weak and vulnerable and embarrassed, and cried into his shoulder.

He kissed the top of my head. "It's okay…" he whispered. He probably didn't know what was really wrong.

"No…It's not…" I told him shakily. "Because…Because I really want to choose you…"

He paused. Then held me tighter. "Okay. If that's what you want."

I stopped, considering my next move. Making my decision, I got back up and pushed him down onto his back and got on top of him. He kind of groaned when my weight settled on his chest, but then he calmed down when I kissed him. And I kissed him hard.

His reaction was really cute. He was surprised at first. There was a quick intake of breath and he made a soft moaning sound as he exhaled. Fang never did that. Fang never hesitated to hold me closer. Fang never shifted uncomfortably. Fang never spread his hands out wide on my back.

Fang never did a lot of the things that Iggy was doing now that I liked.

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_**Okay. I really like this chapter too. I'm liking how this story is turning out. I think after I get done the next chapter I might have some writer's block…But yeah. I'm thinking I might go into Iggy's POV next. And he's male which means that this make-out session might get a bit graphic…but it could be worse. And I'm aware that now Max is a bit OOC. Apologies! Anyways. Please Review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_

_**--PS--I'm considering posting a story I've been working on for a while, but I'm not sure how my readers will react to it…I might get some bad reviews…not sure…Well, thought I'd ask. I'd like to post it. If you review this chapter, could you do me a favor and tell me if you'd be angry with what I write if I did bad stuff to Iggy? I'm probably overreacting anyways…oh well…**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**I'm sorry it took forever! My Document Manager thingy was full so I couldn't update…But now I can! I'm so excited to start working my way through this story again! I've been in need of a creative outlet and I think writing stories with characters I don't have to take time to create is just the way to do it!**_

_**Ride Maximum own never will and don't still I. Now read it backwards…random urge to make people think…ON WITH THE STORY!!!**_

_**Ah…Oh no…WRITER'S BLOCK!!! I'll work through it, just for you peoples.**_

_**A warning for those who might take it offensively, whoever you weirdos are, here's you warning. The word "penis" is mentioned in here…anyways…**_

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Iggy's POV

Wow…

That was all I could think. Now I completely understood why Fang loved this…Making out with Max. A few years ago, before puberty, I would've thought of this and been grossed out. But now it was amazing.

The one bad thing? I'd never made out with a girl or a guy, never seen it done, and my first kiss had been less than a week before.

That suffices to say that I just let Max lead. I could never be the dominant one in a relationship.

She was on top of me, and, not like she weighed much, but the extra weight was making my injuries hurt. I'd been hurt much worse, but now my mind couldn't remember what I usually thought of to numb the pain…

But it didn't matter. Max was here on top of me, her lips were locked with mine, and I was in heaven. It couldn't get any better.

I…don't really have the words to describe how amazing it was. I never realized how much I loved Max until now. I loved how she kissed me back in the first place instead of pushing away, I loved how she touched my face with one hand while the other supported her over me, yet she relaxed enough to stay as close as possible to me, I loved how she did so much more…

But then my back started hurting. Stupid, god-damned wings…I tried to focus on Max, but then it became unbearable…

"Ow…" I said.

I felt her pull back. "Wings?"

I nodded.

"Okay…How about this?" She rolled us over onto our sides.

"Much better…" I sighed and kissed her again, sliding my hand up under her shirt and up her back, between her wings. She giggled, since I knew it would tickle and she'd like it, and didn't push me away.

She never pushed me away. Not even when we both wore ourselves out and started falling asleep in each other's arms. She still held me close.

I wasn't sure if Max could tell, but, man, my penis was hard.

I ended up thinking about her until I fell asleep. Didn't take very long at all. Sadly. I would've stayed up all night thinking about her. Plus the next day. I'd be fine with that.

What would happen next? I hoped she wouldn't just choose Fang after making out with me, sharing my first kiss, being the only person I'd ever loved like I'd loved her…That would be too much to handle.

I decided to let her make the decision. Like she wanted. Anything she chose would make me happy, as long as she was happy.

These were my thoughts as I fell asleep, with the girl I loved in my arms.

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_**This chapter ended up short…I couldn't think of anything else to add in this chapter…And I have no idea what making out is like for a guy…I tried my best…I'll really try to update more…I'm SOOOOOO sorry about my lack of updating and this short, somewhat bad chapter…I really am…**_

_**Review anyways? Please? I have no idea where to go from here…but expect a few updates on other stories, perhaps that new story about Iggy that was questionable…I'm posting it anyways, once I figure out what to title it…**_

_**Please review!**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Okay. Trying something new, I guess…Need to get some action…I need action, preferable to a story of all fluff…so I'm gonna try to shove some violence and drama into the story!**_

_**Sorry for the delay though. I recently entered into a writing contest that everyone was sure I'd win and I didn't win anything except a participation certificate which is barely anything…So my self-esteem went down a little. Plus I've been busy. But I'm updating now!**_

_**I don't own Maximum Ride…**_

"What about 06-01? Do you still have the tracking signal?"

"Yes."

"Where is it coming from?"

"Practically in the middle of nowhere…"

"Wouldn't surprise me if that's where he is…"

Jim made a note on his clipboard.

"How about we go get him, then?"

"Of course, sir. I'll round up the helicopters."

"Good." Jim left the room full of computers, making his way to his office to get ready for a fight, grinning.

Max's POV

I woke up to see Iggy's face inches from my own. I'll admit, it was a great way to wake up. He looks really calm and peaceful when he sleeps. How light his eyelashes were, and how one of his hands was half-way into a fist, and how the other was on my waist.

It took me a minute to wake up, which is unusual. But I was so calm…I didn't actually want to wake up…

When I was half-way aware, I immediately woke up.

I heard the sound of far-off helicopters.

Never a good sign.

"Iggy!" I sat up and shook him, not even bothering to wake him up gently, like I would have rather done. "Wake up!"

His eyes opened groggily, then he heard the sound and sat bolt upright. I handed him his shirt as I got up and went to the mouth of the cave, stretching simultaneously. I stayed in the cave, so I wouldn't be seen, but far enough to be able to see out. It was a careful balance that you have to master.

"Are they close?" Iggy asked.

"I can see them…They're about a mile and a half away…Who are they…"

"Scientists…No doubt about that…"

"How do you know that?"

"Because…They…um…They put a tracking chip in me…"

I turned to him suddenly to find him looking out with an angry look on his face.

"WHAT?"

"A tracking chip…"

"And you didn't tell me this earlier because…?"

"I don't know…"

How do you forget to tell someone you're traveling with that you have a tracking chip inside you that could allow Erasers and evil scientists to track you down and kill you both while you're asleep in a cave completely alone after a make-out session? I mean, I would understand if he had accidentally left his window open while the heat was on during the winter. That I wouldn't get angry about in these circumstances. But THIS?

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "Forget it for now…I'll get angry later…"

He looked upset with himself. Like he should.

I sighed, frustrated. Grabbing the bag I had packed and slinging it on my back, I grabbed Iggy's wrist and dragged him over the cliff. Once he spread his wings, I let go of him and spread my own, heading upwards after him and getting in front of him. I knew him. He was skilled enough to follow me by just following the wind from when I pushed my wings down. He was that good.

I looked around for the helicopters and saw them almost immediately.

They saw us too, because they sped up and started towards us.

"Iggy, we're going to speed up."

"I can't…It hurts really bad Max…"

I looked back to him. He was struggling, clutching at his chest. No matter how mad I was at him for neglecting to tell me about the chip, I couldn't leave him behind.

The helicopters were gaining. I saw the side doors open and Erasers lean out with guns.

I'm known for split-second decisions. So Iggy shouldn't have been too surprised when I glided over him and dropped down on top of him, pushing us both down into the trees just as the guns began shooting right at us.

_**It's a fail…A really really really really really really really really bad fail…I'm completely aware…**_

_**--Fire wolf12**_


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